"Man Elliot you've gotta have more lives than a damn cat at this point."
Elliot winced as he sat up, "Not sure about that." He glanced around the room, and then back at Fin. "Damn it. Who's with Olivia?" He threw the blanket off of his legs, but groaned when he remembered his own physical limitations. His damn legs oscillated between numbness and pins and needles. He groaned and leaned back into the hospital bed.
Fin lifted his hands in an attempt to stop him from loving too much. "Woah man, look. You're not goin anywhere, and neither is she so chill. She isn't alone, your kid is with her," he snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name, "Maureen." Fin shot Elliot a discreet side eye, "What the hell did you say to her? She was acting…off."
Elliot lifted his good arm and rubbed one of his temples. He sort of remembered a conversation…that he was having with Kathy's ghost… "Damn it." He muttered. "I didn't know she was here. I thought I was dreaming or hallucinating or something…"
"Nah. Just your kid. She said you kept calling her Kathy though." Fin situated himself in a nearby chair.
Elliot's jaw clenched nervously. "Did she say anything else?" He vaguely remembered the conversation, and he was sure whatever he said would have shaken Maureen.
Fin laced his fingers together and laid them on his chest as he sat back into the chair. "Not to me or Ayanna. Not sure what kind of conversations she's havin with Liv though." Fin gave him a knowing look. That man had always been too perceptive…especially with anything related him and Liv. At least he had the good sense to keep it to himself. Well, he hoped so.
The pain must have been fogging his brain because for the life of him he couldn't create a string of coherent thought. He's mind seemed intently focused on two things. The pain rippled through his body, and his need to see Liv. "I need to see her."
Fin didn't seem in the least bit confused over what she he was referring to. "I dunno man. I don't think they're gonna drag you down the hall to her room."
"Fin." He was begging one of his oldest friends to help him with this, and while there were limits on what Fin might do for Elliot, he knew that Fin would do anything for Olivia.
"Fine, fine. You two are a hot mess, you know that right? Amanda had to practically force Liv back into bed. She was insisting on seeing you." He shook his head, "You both need your heads examined…" he muttered.
Just as Fin stepped out to flag down a nurse to fulfill Elliot's idiotic request, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. Velasco. "About damn time…" he muttered into his phone.
-000-
Ayanna had all but decided to abandon her hospital vigil to check on her team. It hadn't been long since they lost Jamie, and now? The thought of losing Elliot was devastating. Particularly for Jet. Just as she turned in the direction of the hospital exit, Fin stepped out of Stabler's room with his phone in hand. She paused, hoping the caller had an update.
Eventually, Fin lifted his eyes and noticed her waiting expectantly. He nodded and headed towards her. Once he was close he hit the speaker button on his phone.
Velasco's voice rambled over the connection, "You know I owe that idiot Chad my tickets for this weekend right…man is such a prick…"
Fin rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Liv will reimburse you. Stop whinin and tell us what ya got." His eyes flicked to Ayanna. "I got Stabler's sargeant here too."
"Right. Okay." Velasco cleared his throat. "Striations don't match."
"Damn." Fin muttered, and Ayanna groaned, agreeing with the sentiment.
"He said he didn't have any info on the guns' models or anything. Apparently it takes more time, and I tried to move the jerk along, but…"
Fin waved him off. Even if Velasco couldn't see him. "It doesn't matter," he barked. "We are lookin for two firearms anyway. Manufacturer isn't gonna get us anywhere."
"Right." Velasco agreed, his voice deflated a little.
Fin pressed the heel of his hand against one of his eyes. "Follow up with the crime scene techs. See if they missed somethin in their reports. There's no way this is coincidental."
"Okay Sarge," Velasco responded. There was a pause on his end of the line, "um how's Stabler?"
Ayanna felt a sudden sense of camaraderie with Velasco and Benson's team. They had always worked together well, partially because of Benson's more than close relationship with Stabler, but she never considered how deep that loyalty ran.
"Alive." Fin added,"That man is the luckiest son of a bitch on the force."
Ayanna agreed. Stabler had a knack for surviving insane situations.
"Good," Velasco dropped awkwardly. "Um I'll call you if anything comes up."
"Yep."
Velasco ended the call and Fin dropped his phone back into his pocket.
"How is he?" Ayanna asked
"Crazy as always. He wants to see Liv."
"Of course he does." Ayanna breathed out with a sigh.
"Told him I'd ask someone. Mostly because he's incapable of letting anything go." Fin's eyes glanced down the hallway in the direction of the nurses station.
Ayanna followed his gaze. "Yeah he's like that. Dogged to a fault."
Fin chuckled at that. "I worked with the man for more than a decade. I know he's a stubborn ass."
Ayanna glanced towards the door. "He was pretty pissed at me, you know, before all of this."
"He's probably still pissed…" Fin said with a smirk.
"Probably," Ayanna laughed. "Unfortunately for him, we've got to figure out if all this has anything to do with his assignment. He's going to have to talk to me."
"You think it has anything to do with your case." Fin wondered out loud.
Ayanna sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think so, but there's always a possibility. He was working pretty low on the totem pole so I don't think they would have any reason to take a shot at him." She shook her head, "There really wasn't any way they could have made him as a cop. They could have tailed him I guess, but why would they?"
Fin leaned against the hallway wall, "it could be something completely unrelated."
"But why? If not the case, why would someone come after both of them, and if it is the case, why did the go after Liv first?"
"It woulda been great if the bullets matched," Fin sounded exasperated.
"Doesn't mean they're not connected. It doesn't take a genius to use a different gun." It was particularly common with sophisticated criminal organizations. Never use the same gun from the gun bank for multiple hits.
Fin shook his head again. "They gotta be connected. We just gotta figure out how."
"Well, if I can get Stabler to talk to me…" Ayanna glanced nervously at the door.
Fin clapped his hands in front of him and lightly rubbed his palms together. "Let's see if we can get someone to get him in to see Liv. It will put him in a good mood," Fin chuckled. "If anyone can get the man to talk it's Liv."
-000-
Elliot shifted his weight as there was a soft knock on the door. The knock was too hesitant to be Fin's, in fact, Fin probably wouldn't have knocked at all.
He expected a nurse, but instead Ayanna stepped through the door. "Hey," she greeted.
He sighed. "Hey."
She wandered over to the armchair situated closest to the hospital bed. "Mind if I sit?"
Elliot motioned for her to go ahead. He knew exactly the questions she was bound to ask so he decided to get to the point. "There was no way I was compromised."
"Are you sure?" Her eyes held all the gravity the situation required.
"Yes," he insisted. "I was doing grunt work. Nobody cared what I was doing. I don't think they knew I was there half of the time." He had done his best to remain behind the counter, and keep his interactions minimal. The assignment was less about buddying up to mob bosses, and more about silently observing the daily grind of the organization.
"There's got to be something Elliot…" she gave him a knowing look, and he instantly felt himself get defensive.
"I told you. I stayed away from Liv." He couldn't squash the bitterness in his voice.
She leaned back in the chair and folded her arms. "See, I'm having a really hard time believing that." She almost sounded offended.
"Not sure how I can prove it to you," he said in exasperation.
She groaned and stood suddenly, "Just stop lying to me Elliot. Whatever was going on or not has already happened and I'm just trying to figure out who the hell wanted you two dead!" She took a couple steps away from him and back again. "I know you had contact. I'm just not sure how much."
"It doesn't matter because my assignment has nothing to do with this," he insisted.
She threw her arms up in the air. "Oh my God Elliot. Give it up." The tension in the room rose to a fever pitch.
His anger flared. "What do you want me to say? That I texted her. Fine. Yeah I did. Oh," he felt his temperature rising. "You probably want to know if I called her. Damn. I did that too." He hated sitting. He wanted to pace. He wanted to yell, and he didn't feel like he could do either of those things. He was stuck, and he was boiling. "That enough for you? Or do you need more? Because truth be told, I saw her in person a few times." He continued his angry rant, "What other details do you think you need? I mean if I have to give it all up, I better not leave nothing out. Do you need to know what was happening when I saw her? I'm sure you can figure it out." He pinched the bridge of his nose and slammed his eyes shut, suddenly feeling emotional. "Do you know me at all?" His voice dove down in pitch. He opened his eyes, and held hers. "I may be a reckless son of a bitch. I may defy direct orders, but you know me well enough to know that I could never do anything that might hurt her. I was obsessively careful. I promise. The shooting has nothing to do with the case."
Ayanna stood silently, her eyes slightly widened at his outburst. After an awkward moment, she simply said, "okay."
-000-
At some point, Olivia closed her eyes, feigning sleep to avoid the awkward silence between Maureen and herself. Unfortunately, faking sleep gave way to real sleep. Then came the drug influenced dreams.
Her surroundings were muddled. She felt like she was viewing the world from underwater. She moved slow and sluggish as she walked around her old apartment. Damn. Nothing good ever happened in this apartment. At least not in her dreams.
Standing at her kitchen counter was Elliot, a glass of orange juice in his hand. He stood there smiling, but the smile gave way to pain as he crumbled to the kitchen floor. She felt herself screaming for help, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get to him. Then somewhere behind her she heard a laugh. She knew who it was before she turned. She would never forget the sound of his voice, or the sadistic huff of his laughter. When she was about to turn she heard someone saying her name.
"Liv, hey Liv baby wake up. I'm here. It's okay. We're okay."
She felt herself mumble something unintelligible, and his hand covered hers in response. "Liv, I need to see your eyes. Can you open your eyes for me?" His voice was soft but firm, low and sweet.
Her eyes felt cemented shut, and she thought she might be stuck forever in the nightmarish flashback threatening to consume her. Then she felt his lips on her hand, and she wanted to see him. She needed to know that he was there, and that he was alive, and that this wasn't some other cruel conjuring of her subconscious.
With deliberate effort she peeled her eyes open. His hand squeezed hers and she felt the wet tears rolling down her cheeks. When she finally opened her eyes completely she was met with one of her favorite pairs of blue eyes. His body sank in relief.
"There you are," he said, his voice brimming with emotion.
She winced in pain as she leaned forward so her hand could reach his face. "Don't ever scare me like that ever again."